The Ice Harvest (2005)

IT'S ONLY ME, BUT:

SHOULD OF BEEN FUNIER WITH JOHN CUSAK AND BILLIE BOB THORNTON TOETHER. DIDN'T GUITE GET THERE. JM June 1, 2008

HAROLD RAMIS, OPUS 10

***1/2 2005. Directed by Harold Ramis. The screenplay, adapted from Scott Phillips' The Ice Harvest: A Novel and written by Robert Kramer vs. Kramer Benton earned a nomination for the Edgar Allan Poe award. In the icy city of Wichita, two unskilled amateurs, who've stolen $2 million from a mob boss, try to get away. I liked a lot the cynical mood of the film who must be enjoyed like an old liqueur. Enjoyable. February 19, 2008

Good acting

Ever since "High Fidelity" came out, I've been a big John Cusak fan. Before "High Fidelity" I had never really heard of him (I can be a bit out of it sometimes), but after "High Fidelity", he has been one of two actors whose face on the box alone can be enough to make me rent a movie. (Kevin Spacey being the other one).

Of course that can be a dangerous policy because John Cusak has been in as many stinkers as successes, but fortunately this time around "The Ice Harvest" is highly watchable. It's a suspense about a mob lawyer who tries to steal money from his boss, and then finds he can't trust a lot of his friends as well. A lot of dark comedy is thrown in as well. The dark humor aspect of it reminded me slightly of "Things to do in Denver when you're Dead." And Billy Bob Thornton is pretty good in this movie also.

Not anything I would recommend you go out of your way to see, but if you're looking for a video on a slow Wednesday night, you could do a lot worse. August 8, 2007

Perversely amusing, although the novel is better

Judging from the few dozen reviews I perused, not too many people read Scott Phillips' novel upon which this movie is based. Phillips has a great ear for dialogue, which by & large survived the transition into screenplay form. However, there are some significant differences between the novel and the film, not the least of which is the ending. Scott Phillips was involved to a certain extent in the production of the film, and I have to assume that he was OK with these alterations --- but I can't help but think that the movie would have been more effective if it had remained faithful to the novel all the way through.

Additionally, although I like John Cusack generally, I wasn't entirely satisfied with his portrayal of Charlie Arglist, who comes off as a doofus way in over his head. The Charlie Arglist in the novel may be in the dark on a lot of details, but he is not an idiot, nor is he out of control of his own destiny --- something which the novel's end makes all that much more poignant. This poignancy was missing from the movie, and while reviewers may not have realized it, perhaps this is one of the reasons that this film was not well-received.

So --- even though I enjoyed it, I would give it a very qualified four stars, owing largely to some solid performances from Billy Bob Thornton & Oliver Platt. But I understand why the opinion of others might be more harsh. June 29, 2007

Why wasn't this in the theaters?

I caught 1/2 this movie on HBO. Got up went to Amazon and bought it! Great dark comedy. John Cusack is really good in this and Billy Bob is,, you know... Billy Bob!!! Simply put, it's a great movie. The outakes are even great. Billy Bob rehearsing a scene as "Carl" (Sling blade)is a perfect ending to a great movie. June 15, 2007

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